JASONVILLE —
What kind of experience is best?
That’s a question coach Chip Sweet thinks might decide the Class A Jasper Semistate today between South Central (Elizabeth) and Sweet’s Shakamak team, and it’s one that can be looked at in a couple of different ways.
The Rebels, 24-8 for the year and ranked eighth in the final regular-season Class A poll, have plenty of seniors while the Lakers — 26-6 and ranked second — have just two, center fielder Brock Dowell and second baseman Robert Fowler.
The Rebels also, however, are in a baseball semistate for the first time. These Lakers — who hope to head to Victory Field for the fifth time in their school’s history by winning this afternoon’s 1 p.m. game — haven’t played in a semistate either, but a lot of Lakers with younger brothers and younger fans went down that road a few times.
“[Seeing other Shakamak teams there] could be a mental edge,” Sweet said hopefully this week. “These kids have seen the older [Shakamak] kids who have done it.”
And not getting caught up in the moment could be important today as two teams with a lot of similarities battle it out.
“The team that holds themselves together emotionally and plays up to their skill level will probably come out of [Jasper],” the Shakamak coach predicted.
The Lakers come into today’s game playing the best they have all season, both Sweet and his players feel.
“The kids played well [at last weekend’s regional, when Shakamak beat University 14-0 and sixth-ranked Rising Sun 7-2],” Sweet said. “The last three weeks we’ve been hitting the ball much, much better. Pitching and defense carried us the first half of the season.”
“We’re really hitting well,” Fowler agreed. “I think we’re good; ready to take on any team. Our pitching has always been there so far.”
Shakamak’s improved hitting as a team isn’t quite as dramatic as Fowler’s was last week. A two-year starter whose career has been spent at or near the bottom of the batting order — or occasionally as the defensive player removed for a designated hitter — the senior infielder was 4 for 5 with a double and a couple of walks at the regional, scoring five runs and driving in four.
“I hit the ball well. I had a great game,” Fowler said earlier this week, sporting a smile impossible to remove from his face. “We’re excited; we’re ready to play [today].”
Fowler’s outburst raised his batting average to .250 for the season, and Shakamak also is getting big late-season contributions from Christian Burris (.210) and Kyler Fulford (.160). That gives the Lakers a nice complement to leadoff batter Dowell (.427, .530 on-base percentage) and the power spots in the middle of the order filled by Patrick Green (.400, 9 homers, 39 RBIs), Brodie Crowe (.343, 5 homers, 28 RBIs) and Brett Yeryar (.408, 4 homers, 31 RBIs). Luke Sweet is also hitting .344, and Dylan Collins (.239) has been doing a good job with his responsibilities as the No. 2 hitter in the order.
Shakamak also has a team earned run average of 2.05 and its four main pitchers are better than that. Green (9-1, 1.63, 78 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings) will start today, but Yeryar (9-2, 2..02), Dowell (1-2, 1.71) and Crowe (5-0, 1.17) are also available.
South Central also feels it’s playing its best baseball right now, thanks to the return of ace pitcher Alex Wiseman.
The tall senior left-hander suffered an off-the-field injury during the first week of baseball practice and has been available only recently. He’s had just five mound appearances, but two of them came as he used his entire 10-inning allotment at the regional last weekend, pitching a shutout against Northeast Dubois in its championship game.
The Rebels have three extremely good hitters in Jason Boston (.423, 9 homers, 45 runs, 40 RBIs), Jordan Yale (.410, 41 runs) and Austin Knear (.363, 41 runs). South Central is averaging almost four runs per game just on the tallies of those three hitters.
“They’re really solid,” Sweet said of the Rebels. “They are senior-oriented, with a lot of experienced kids. We’ll probably see their lefty; he doesn’t throw real hard, but his offspeed pitches seem to be his out pitches … they’re pretty comparable to us.”
Sweet and his staff expect a low-scoring game between two evenly matched teams, and the Lakers have worked this week on defending against small-ball tactics.
“If they try to give us outs [by sacrificing], we need to make sure we get those outs,” the coach said.
High School
Shakamak baseball face team similar to itself in Class A semistate
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West Vigo advances to sectional championship with walk-off win in ninth
High school baseball sectional games between West Vigo and Edgewood have had a tendency to be unpredictable over the years, but the Vikings and Mustangs outdid themselves in that area Thursday evening — and Thursday night.
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BOYS TRACK REGIONAL: North gets three winners, South two at Evansville
Terre Haute North had three winners, Terre Haute South two, and the Patriots and Braves finished second and third respectively at the Evansville Regional for boys track on Thursday at Evansville Central.
Hurdlers Cam Stewart and Cole Seward and discus thrower Lee Davis were the winners for North, enabling the Patriots to finish with 60 points to 59 for the Braves. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Martinsville adavances in Class 4A THS Sectional
Martinsville slipped past Mooresville 4-2 in the only game played Thursday in the Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional for high school baseball.
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South Vermillion pitches team to sectional title, wins for her dad
South Vermillion snapped one streak and extended another Thursday night to win Class 3A Sectional 28 8-5 over Brown County at Edgewood High School.
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Green's grand slam helps Shakamak to sectional win
Patrick Green pitched the first four innings for his seventh win of the year and made things easier for himself with a second-inning grand slam as Shakamak opened the Class A Shakamak Sectional with a 9-1 win over Clay City on Thursday.
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Rockville, Attica winners in Class A sectional baseball action
Host Rockville defeated North Vermillion and Attica came from behind to overhaul defending champion Turkey Run on Thursday in the first round of the Class A Rockville Sectional for high school baseball.
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North baseball pulls away from South in sectional opener
In high school baseball little things mean a lot, and the crack in the door doesn’t have to be open very wide.
Terre Haute North burst through that crack in the bottom of the second inning Wednesday evening at Terre Haute South, scoring seven two-out runs and going on to a surprisingly easy 12-2 victory over the host Braves. -
Blank, Mundy named McMillan Award winners
Posing side-by-side for photos following Terre Haute North High School’s Senior Awards ceremony, seniors Calvin Blank and Chanli Mundy couldn’t look more different.
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West Vigo baseball advances with 10-0 win behind Stewart's two-hitter
West Vigo got off to a good start in Class 3A high school sectional baseball action Wednesday evening at Dick Ballinger Field.
The Vikings scored four runs in the first inning of the first sectional game and went on to defeat Brown County 10-0 in five innings with Kevin Stewart hurling a two-hitter. -
Terre Haute South tennis claims regional crown
It was a lot tougher than some thought it would be, but the Terre Haute South girls tennis team won the Greencastle regional for the second year in a row Wednesday evening at DePauw University Tennis and Track Center.
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Big group of Wabash Valley boys head to Evansville looking for state berths
The top four finishers in each event from last week’s Terre Haute North, Evansville Central, Jasper and Princeton boys high school track and field sectionals will converge on Evansville Central today for regional competition.
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West Vigo comes up short against 19-9 Brown County softball
West Vigo got off to a good start but Brown County finished better in Class 3A high school softball sectional semifinal action Tuesday night at Edgewood.
The Eagles bested the Vikings 7-5 and will meet South Vermillion, a 12-7 winner over Owen Valley, for the sectional championship on Thursday starting at 6 p.m.
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Valley baseball teams have been keeping busy heading into sectionals
When high school baseball sectionals begin around the Wabash Valley today, one complaint that’s not expected to be heard from any coach is that his team has had too much time off.
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Northview powers way past Terre Haute South in sectional semifinal
Northview unleashed power rarely seen in high school girls softball Tuesday night to eliminate Terre Haute South 8-1 in the Class 4A Sectional at Martinsville High School.
The Knights hit three home runs in an eight-run third inning to reach the championship game. -
Terre Haute North dominates field at regional
Keirra Porter took first place in two individual events and helped Terre Haute North win one of its relays as the Patriots captured the Evansville Central Regional team championship in girls high school track and field Tuesday night.
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PREP ROUNDUP: South tennis cruises into regional final
Terre Haute South didn’t lose a game en route to blanking Seeger 5-0 in girls high school tennis Tuesday to advance to today’s championship match against Crawfordsville in the Greencastle Regional.
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Terry enjoys strong year with Wildcats, and still enjoying suiting up to play
South Vermillion’s Tim Terry is the longest tenured coach in Wabash Valley high school baseball as his Wildcats are set to begin sectional play Thursday against Owen Valley.
But on the Yankees, a 35-and-over team in the Terre Haute Men’s Senior Baseball League, Terry is “just a youngster” if you ask Larry Roesch, his 68-year-old teammate on the Volkers Group Yankees. -
West Vigo softball holds off nemesis Edgewood in softball sectional
Ice cream was enough of a reward Monday night after the West Vigo Vikings beat eight-time defending champion Edgewood 6-2 in extra innings in the opening game of the Class 3A softball sectional at Edgewood High School. But that’s not what Vikings want.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Shakamak's Green hits two homers in win over West Vigo
Shakamak improved to 22-3 on the season behind a complete-game effort from Brett Yeryar, and Patrick Green hit two solo home runs in a high school baseball game Monday.
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Terre Haute North offense unable to get going in loss to Mooresville
Jack Kirchner chose to give credit Monday night to Mooresville pitcher Taylor Chitwood, not to the Greg Maddux-size strike zone she seemed to enjoy.
But if there were no excuses forthcoming from Kirchner and his Terre Haute North High School softball team, it wouldn’t have been hard to find a spectator or two to come up with extenuating circumstances about the Patriots’ 4-1 loss at the Class 4A Martinsville Sectional. -
Terre Haute North looking strong going into girls track regional
Terre Haute North might need an off night for anyone to catch them in the girls track regional at Evansville Central.
The Patriots are as well-rounded as they’ve ever been, and two relay teams are state contenders with times ranking No. 2 in Indiana among times recorded all spring.
Terre Haute South, Northview and Sullivan have athletes among the contenders in multiple events as well. -
South tennis ready for potential challenge in regional
Terre Haute South and Northview take respective records of 10-5 and 11-5 into the Greencastle Regional today.
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Softball sectionals up for grabs
All three Vigo County high schools and Northview appear to have a realistic chance of winning sectional championships in softball this week.
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Terre Haute South, Northview vie for tennis regional title
Terre Haute South and Northview take respective records of 10-5 and 11-5 into the Greencastle Regional today.
Coach Bill Blankenbaker’s Braves will play Seeger at 4:30 p.m., while coach Emily Goff’s Knights will take on Crawfordsville about 6 p.m. -
Vikings win in extra innings at Rockville
West Vigo scored six runs in its first two innings Saturday, then needed a ninth-inning single by Lucas Fagg to escape with a 7-6 extra-inning win in nonconference high school baseball at Rockville.
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TH South beats Northview in Big Four makeup baseball game
Terre Haute South wrapped up a share of the MIC baseball title and finished up the Big Four Classic with an 8-1 victory over Northview in less than 24 hours on Saturday morning.
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Olds pitches South to share of MIC baseball title
Friday night, winning the second game 5-0 and earning a share of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title.
Damon Olds was dominant on the mound for the Braves, striking out 14 and walking just one while pitching a three-hit shutout. -
South wins first half of doubleheader against Lawrence North
Host Terre Haute South kept its Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title hopes alive — and clinched no worse than second place in the process — by downing Lawrence North 4-1 in the first game of a doubleheader Friday night.
The second game, which started after Senior Night festivities between games, ended past the Tribune-Star deadline. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Calleja pitches West Vigo past South Vermillion
Brandon Calleja had 13 strikeouts to lead West Vigo to a 5-1 victory against South Vermillion in high school baseball Friday.
Brandon Behringer went 2 for 4 with two RBI for the Vikings, who secured second place in the Western Indiana Conference.
Kaden Lawson had double for South Vermillion (15-7), which finished 4-2 in the WIC. -
Seibert returns from injury to win three events as Braves win sectional crown
His baseball equivalent might be Rick Sutcliffe of the 1984 Chicago Cubs.
When Tyler Seibert returned to the Terre Haute South track and field lineup Thursday for sectional action at Terre Haute North, it was like the midseason trade the Cubs made for Sutcliffe that earned them a playoff spot. - More High School Headlines
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